New lobbying rules for planning permission

New rules mean people planning to build one-off houses will have to register as lobbyists if they want to get the support of their councillors or TDs.

According to a report in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post, if they fail to publicly disclose the lobbying of local politicians to back their application then they could face fires or two years’ imprisonment.

The new lobbying regulator, Sherry Perreault, said that while the new legislation is mainly aimed at lobbying professionals, individuals who lobby on development and zoning matters are obliged to register.

Any lobbying of public officials taking place after Tuesday September 1st 2015 must be submitted to a publicly searchable online register before January 21st 2016, with late registration liable for a €200 fine, and jail time for more serious offenders.